Lobsters
| image = Lobster NSRW.jpg | image_caption = American lobster, Homarus americanus | regnum = Animalia | phylum = Arthropoda | subphylum = Crustacea | classis = Malacostraca | ordo = Decapoda | infraordo = Astacidea | familia = Nephropidae | familia_authority = Dana, 1852 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = *''Acanthacaris'' Bate, 1888 *''Eunephrops'' Smith, 1885 *''Homarinus'' Kornfield, Williams & Steneck, 1995 *''Homarus'' Weber, 1795 *''Hoploparia'' † M’Coy, 1849 *''Jagtia'' † Tshudy & Sorhannus, 2000 *''Metanephrops'' Jenkins, 1972 *''Nephropides'' Manning, 1969 *''Nephrops'' Leach, 1814 *''Nephropsis'' Wood-Mason, 1873 *''Oncopareia'' † Bosquet, 1854 *''Palaeonephrops'' † Mertin, 1941 *''Paraclythia'' † Fritsch & Kafka, 1887 *''Pseudohomarus'' † van Hoepen, 1962 *''Thaumastocheles'' Wood-Mason, 1874 *''Thaumastochelopsis'' Bruce, 1988 *''Thymopides'' Burukovsky & Averin, 1977 *''Thymops'' Holthuis, 1974 *''Thymopsis'' Holthuis, 1974 }} Clawed lobsters comprise a family (Nephropidae, sometimes also Homaridae) of large marine crustaceans. Though several groups of crustaceans are known as "lobsters," the clawed lobsters are most often associated with the name. They are also revered for their flavor and texture. Clawed lobsters are not closely related to spiny lobsters or slipper lobsters, which have no claws (chelae), or squat lobsters. The closest relatives of clawed lobsters are the reef lobsters and the three families of freshwater crayfish. The fossil record of clawed lobsters extends back at least to the Valanginian Age of the Cretaceous. Evolution Lobsters were more diverse in the Cretaceous period (53 species) than in the Tertiary (16 or 18 species), which has been postulated to have been caused by mass extinction at the K–T boundary. However, diversity rebounded in the Eocene, and it may be that the lower Tertiary diversity was mainly due to lobsters abandoning shelf depths in the late Eocene/early Oligocene, as fossils of deep-dwelling lobsters are rare. It is nevertheless clear that shelf-dwelling lobsters were more diverse during the Cretaceous. Description |alt=Photo of person holding a large, live lobster]] Lobsters are invertebrates, with a hard protective exoskeleton. Like most arthropods, lobsters must molt in order to grow, which leaves them vulnerable. During the molting process, several species change color. Lobsters have 10 walking legs; the front three pairs bear claws, the first of which are larger than the others. Although, like most other arthropods, lobsters are largely bilaterally symmetrical, they often possess unequal, specialized claws, like the king crab. Lobster anatomy includes the cephalothorax which fuses the head and the thorax, both of which are covered by the chitinous carapace and the abdomen. The lobster's head bears antennae, antennules, mandibles, the first and second maxillae, and the first, second, and third maxillipeds. Because lobsters live in a murky environment at the bottom of the ocean, they mostly use their antennae as sensors. The lobster eye has a reflective structure above a convex retina. In contrast, most complex eyes use refractive ray concentrators (lenses) and a concave retina. The abdomen includes swimmerets and its tail is composed of uropods and the telson. Lobsters, like snails and spiders, have blue blood due to the presence of haemocyanin, which contains copper. (In contrast, mammals and many other animals have red blood from iron-rich haemoglobin.) Lobsters possess a green hepatopancreas, called the tomalley by chefs, which functions as the animal's liver and pancreas. In general, lobsters are long and move by slowly walking on the sea floor. However, when they flee, they swim backwards quickly by curling and uncurling their abdomen. A speed of has been recorded. This is known as the caridoid escape reaction. Navigation It is thought that lobsters may use magnetic orientation to navigate Ecology Lobsters are found in all oceans. They live on rocky, sandy, or muddy bottoms from the shoreline to beyond the edge of the continental shelf. They generally live singly in crevices or in burrows under rocks. Lobsters are omnivores, and typically eat live prey such as fish, mollusks, other crustaceans, worms, and some plant life. They scavenge if necessary, and may resort to cannibalism in captivity; however, this has not been observed in the wild. Although lobster skin has been found in lobster stomachs, this is because lobsters eat their shed skin after molting. Species ]] '']] This list contains all extant species in the family Nephropidae: * ''Acanthacaris caeca * Acanthacaris tenuimana * Eunephrops bairdii * Eunephrops cadenasi * Eunephrops luckhursti * Eunephrops manningi * Homarinus capensis — Cape lobster * Homarus americanus — American lobster * Homarus gammarus — European lobster * Metanephrops andamanicus — Andaman lobster * Metanephrops arafurensis * Metanephrops armatus * Metanephrops australiensis — Australian scampi * Metanephrops binghami — Caribbean lobster * Metanephrops boschmai — bight lobster * Metanephrops challengeri — New Zealand scampi * Metanephrops formosanus * Metanephrops japonicus — Japanese lobster * Metanephrops mozambicus * Metanephrops neptunus * Metanephrops rubellus * Metanephrops sagamiensis * Metanephrops sibogae * Metanephrops sinensis — China lobster * Metanephrops thomsoni * Metanephrops velutinus * Nephropides caribaeus * Nephrops norvegicus — Norway lobster * Nephropsis acanthura * Nephropsis aculeata — Florida lobsterette * Nephropsis agassizii * Nephropsis atlantica * Nephropsis carpenteri * Nephropsis ensirostris * Nephropsis hamadai * Nephropsis holthuisii * Nephropsis macphersoni * Nephropsis malhaensis * Nephropsis neglecta * Nephropsis occidentalis * Nephropsis rosea * Nephropsis serrata * Nephropsis stewarti * Nephropsis suhmi * Nephropsis sulcata * Thymopides grobovi * Thymops birsteini * Thymopsis nilenta References External links * * Atlantic Veterinary College Lobster Science Centre Category:True lobsters Category:Animal welfare Category:Commercial crustaceans Category:Edible crustaceans Category:Seafood ang:Loppestre be:Амары be-x-old:Амары bg:Омар ca:Nefròpid cs:Humrovití de:Hummerartige el:Αστακός (μαλακόστρακο) es:Langosta (crustáceo) eo:Omaro fr:Nephropidae hak:Liùng-hâ hi:झींगा मछली (लॉब्स्टर) id:Lobster is:Humrar it:Nephropidae he:לובסטר jv:Lobster lt:Omaras ml:കൊഞ്ച് ms:Udang karang nl:Zeekreeften ja:ロブスター no:Hummere nn:Hummarfamilien pl:Homary pt:Nephropidae ru:Омары simple:Lobster fi:Hummerit sv:Hummer tl:Ulang te:ఎండ్రకాయ tr:Istakoz uk:Омар ur:کَر کند war:Tapusok wuu:龙虾 zh:海螯蝦 --> {enWP|Lobster}}